skidooboy Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Typing this from the dinner table at Chez Gaston in Dubreuilville... Well, we finally made it up for a trip. the drive up was ok, the track at sault ste marie was all lit up, and the trailers were in place for the big race. ran into alot of fresh snow north of montreal river. the banks between the soo and wawa are INCREDIBLE for this time of the year. it appears there is not much more room for winging the banks, as the ditches on the level are full. some of the banks were over the top of the truck. in places it felt like we were in a tunnel. The reflector poles on the side of the highway are almost fully covered. the snow is up to the bottom of most of the larger signs. IT IS CRAZY! i am guessing they will have to bring augers in, and throw the snow v.s trying to plow and wing. epic is an over-used term but, i think this time it is warranted. as we drove north of wawa, the banks tapered off in height. dont get me wrong there is more than plenty of snow up here in dub but, south of wawa and in wawa the snow is EPIC DEEP!!!! Ox, you better get up here before a rain or warm up. it is like the 90's up here.... bottomless. i think we are going to trailer to Tik road one day and try to head south on the hydro line. havent been in there since the last year the trail was in. we had dinner last night with Mo & John, they say hi to everyone. no pics of the banks, we drove from heyden to wawa in the dark. Just outside of Dub we saw a moose, had a fox visit us at chez gaston this am. i'll try to take some pics of the banks on tuesday on the way home. i'll see if i can keep you guys updated with pics and stories while here. Kat..... YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE AN AWESOME TRIP. NO WORRIES ABOUT SNOW DEPTH ANYWHERE. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Ski sounds like conditions are great getting excited for our trip trying to get things all done before we leave early tuesday morning , hope you have a great time riding this weekend hope we have good driving weather tuesday for our trip up. will be looking for up-dates from your ride HAVE FUN zrtkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 i cant add pics from this laptop, i typed a HUGE story.. and it wouldnt let me send it. we ran into ALOT of tracked up areas we normally ride with no tracks. it appears more and more people are venturing off trail. we did find the hydro line untouched. made it to Ernies for a burger and a visit. ran into Ray Dubreuil and his family. ran into A&S repair owner helping a towns member who broken down the night before and waled into town for help by himself at -20. washed the truck and trailer, had a good dinner, and a visit from Chez Gaston owners and operators Nicole and Alain. dreamed about untouched powder for the next days adventure. i am hoping we dont have to start looking for a new area(s) to explore and make new loops and riding areas due to more and more people racing to our normal untouched areas. thats how the cookie crumbles when you are looking for powder riding off trail. sunny blue bird day today, hoping to find our north area all to ourselves. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 i cant add pics from this laptop, i typed a HUGE story.. and it wouldnt let me send it. we ran into ALOT of tracked up areas we normally ride with no tracks. it appears more and more people are venturing off trail. we did find the hydro line untouched. made it to Ernies for a burger and a visit. ran into Ray Dubreuil and his family. ran into A&S repair owner helping a towns member who broken down the night before and waled into town for help by himself at -20. washed the truck and trailer, had a good dinner, and a visit from Chez Gaston owners and operators Nicole and Alain. dreamed about untouched powder for the next days adventure. i am hoping we dont have to start looking for a new area(s) to explore and make new loops and riding areas due to more and more people racing to our normal untouched areas. thats how the cookie crumbles when you are looking for powder riding off trail. sunny blue bird day today, hoping to find our north area all to ourselves. Ski Ski we will not be in that area until wednesday the 12th heading towards Chapleau looking forward to riding thru there, there must be more people riding this winter they are finding your favorite riding areas, have a great ride today , I am waiting for a up-date from AC+YA on the F trail from Flame lake then we will make our reservations for the rest of our trip. they are calling for a major winter storm in ohio starting tuesday night good thing we will be traveling early tuesday. Zrtkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 rode about 90 miles on and off trail north of dubreuilville. bright sunny bluebird day. had the entire north D trail to ourselves. played on the by pass trail that was put in a few years ago, that hadnt been groomed yet. if the club doesnt groom and brush this, all the money spent on this for the community access to the north trail, will be lost as the bush is taking it over already. i know it is easier to groom the roadbed but, the rail way and the logging ops will plow that road, then the club has to go out and open another trail, and build the trail base all over. this will be a large cost of man power and grooming dollars. played at the old airport, made a loop on a favorite "offtrail trail". it is so grown in now, we probably wont be able to loop in there anymore, unless a logging crew goes in and opens it up again. had a hot lunch from the muff pots about 300pm. went out to "antler alley" no antlers due to the deep snow, and it appears a trapper found his way in from somewhere north of us because he didnt go in where we go in, and his tracks appeared, and dissapeared. again... people going where we have never seen people go. about 2 miles from being done for the day, I dodged a large branch on the far right side of the trail, facing right at me. no time to warn the wife in the communicator. she ended up spearing it, in the belly pan and wedging a big hunk into the brake caliper and rotor. took awhile at -25 to pull out enough wood to get it back into town. back at the house, i cleaned it all up, heated the belly pan, got it sort of closed. then zip tie stiched it together, and a large coating of RTV sealant to make a temporary weather tite seal to get us through the rest of the trip. i'm just glad it wasnt higher, and hit her or I in the legs or worse. it was right on a blind corner, right on the curbing of the right side of the trail. probably should have been marked, or removed for saftey but..... it's gone now. one more day to ride, then back home we go. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Ski Oh my happy your wife is ok and did not get hurt you can always fix the machine you never know what around the corner , sounds like you are getting some good riding in . I was looking for some pics of moose antlers seems like every winter you find some.ok ski enjoy your day we are busy getting things ready for our trip leaving early in morning . Winter storm watch here in Ohio starting tuesday eve 6-10 inches happy we will get thru before it starts zrtkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Ox, you better get up here before a rain or warm up. it is like the 90's up here.... bottomless. i think we are going to trailer to Tik road one day and try to head south on the hydro line. havent been in there since the last year the trail was in. Should be there first of March. Was planning on hitting that area early to mid Feb, but Jan has been a time and energy consuming month. Not sure that we will be up sooner now. ??? Does sound great tho! Winter storm watch here in Ohio starting tuesday eve 6-10 inches happy we will get thru before it starts Well - I'll tell yuh what: We left at the beginning of a big storm back in March of '97. Was freezing rain here, averaged 40 MPH all the way to Blueberry Hill. Arrived 2 or 4 hours later than expected. Ice and snow hanging off everything. Trail had 18" of fresh laid down ahead of us. Had a GREAT time ... until we ran out of gas. Then just lot's of time to reflect while sitting in a warm-up shack for a cpl days. All the while the storm back home had taken out the hydro, and so they were in "emergency" status here as well, and didn't realize that we weren't calling home at night. I hope that your trip is as exciting and memorable as ours was! While I hope that your families don't have to all bunch up together for warmth while you're gone. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 well, we saved the best for last so it seems. we trailered out to the 13km mark, then packed 1 extra 5 gallon can on top of our 3 gallon cans, and our full sleds. we ran out 35 kms on a single track trying to conserve fuel to get to an area we havent been in years. once at the 48 km mark we dropped the 5 gallon can, and took one 3 gallon can and topped both sleds off. we finally found untouched heaven, rode out to the end of the road where they pulled a major bridge, to keep us from going any further (over 20 miles). ate a hot lunch from the muff pots, and headed back to the can. split the can between two sleds, and started back to the trailer. on the way back we stopped and decided to add a few more powder miles on, finding we had more than enough fuel to get back to the trailer. ended up at a HUGE wash out, and we decided due to the lateness of the day, and being our last day, that we would save this for another time. trail rode the single track back to the rig, loaded up, and headed into town. eating home made chicken pot pie, and dreading packing up and comming home tomorrow. we decided to bring the sleds home to clean, fix them up, and prep them before our next trip in 10 days. lynnes sled started throwing ecu warning code for a bad exhaust temp sensor so, i looked up the part numbers for it, and lynnes body work parts, and ordered them from my local dealer tonight, so they would be there to fix the sleds this weekend. both our thumb warmers stopped working, so i ordered new ones for both sleds. cold thumbs suck. LOL! Kat, you guys drive safe, i look forward to your reports. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Ski thanks will be leaving home soon hoping I did not forget anything that I will need will keep you up-dated on our trip you have a safe trip home also zrtkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegs Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Hey ski, sounds like you had a great trip. Glad to here your wife is ok, close call. (Thanks for cleaning it up so someone else doesn't hit it or worse get hurt). Great report!! Zrtkat have a safe trip!! Have fun with those new sleds!! Look forward to pics and reports!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 pics, first day, getting started, buny and her new duds, making snow angels, lunch at ernies, the hydro line to home and the utv on the trail. ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 day 2 pics, blue bird day. few pics on and off trail, including the log in the brake rotor. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Last riding day, nothing says love like a heart drawn in the snow and a few shots driving home on 17, including old woman bay, and Alona bay frozen over. it was wild seeing so much of lake superior frozen over. we also had a 42 degree swing in temp from the time we left Dub, till the time we arrived at home today. hope you enjoyed the pics, and my rambling. i am really looking forward to Kats daily log, and our return trip to manitouwadge in 10 days. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Looks like that trip home started way too early in the morning! How could you post that UTV pic without "The rest of the story"? BTW - is that place you stayed - the same place that AC/YA stays? Looks like the same building - just the other side ??? Stopped in to say hey a cpl yrs ago, but they were out riding. (Whooda thunk?) Talked to his wifey. Apparently she don't ride. Doo you have to keep Bertha fed while you're there? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 AC/YA stays at the Obordello B&B. we stay at chez gaston about half way between the gas station and the hotel. utv condensed version was up top from day one. ran into A&S repair owner, helping a towns member who broken down the night before and walked into town for help by himself at -20. ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I didn't follow the UTV answer. ??? I gues the sled is upside down b./c someone is werking on it - it wasn't left that way eh? Anyway - I would prolly walk to town too if it was -20 and I didn't have my camping gear with me... I've done that "build a fire in the open" BS before. Only heat created that way is burning calories. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1558454_802000133149864_1166998742_n.jpg . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 going to Manitouwadge next friday. ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geberhard Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Looks like a good time you had up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Ski nice pics looks like you guys had a great time did you get the sled all fixed ??????? get back up here and enjoy the snow zrtkat in New liskeard trying to figure out how to post pics would not let me do it did it the same way the night before it worked will try again tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 worked on my sled last night, cleaned, and lubed up, and installed a new thumb warmer element (this is second one i have replaced, since i owned the sled, that's 3 total for those of you keeping score at home ) new frog skin vent on the left front. it had a hole in it and was allowing a little snow in the hood area. mine was the easy one, i had LOTS to do on Lynne's... started this am about 10:00, just got done, and ate lunch a little before 3:00pm. new thumb warmer for hers too (3rd one in total as well ), new exhaust temp sensor (was kicking a diagnostic code for bad sensor on our last day), new right side belly pan, had to drill out then reinstall 16 rivets on the one panel, 32 in total new nose cone frogskin vent, had a hole too. then a big clean up, and lube the chassis. topped the gas and oil on both inc the spare cans. they are both ready to go in the trailer now. i think i am heading down to the local auto zone to get some header wrap for my pipe, way too much under hood heat on mine. will be loading the sleds and gear tomorow so, i dont have to do it next week. Friday afternoon we are outta here and heading to the great white north for 8-9 days. going to Mani for 3 days, then to hornepayne for a few, and down to wawa to ride the hydro line with Gord and Russ of Jones Powersports on saturday. then the long trip home, and the inevitible huge clean up and reprep for the march fishing run. keep working on the pics miss seeing what you guys are doing. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 You have the right idea maintenence make holidays happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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